636 FRUIT CULTURE IK FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



nation, as it involves a careful consideration of climates, altitudes, 

 declivity, and the direction of predominant winds. Many different 

 conditions thus present themselves, which may be summed up as fol- 

 lows : Give the tree the maximum of temperature which its nature 

 requires, avoiding places of excessive cold as well as those of burning 

 heat. For this end, in cold localities the trees should be placed on 

 meridianal hills and on septentrional ones in very hot localities. 

 Further, light slopes are always preferable to high hills or the valleys. 



Propagating. The methods for the reproduction of the olives are 

 numerous, but may be treated as under two distinct classes, viz, the 

 natural and the artificial." The best natural way of reproducing the 

 tree is from the seedling. The seed requires two years for germination 

 when sowed in its hard kernel. The latter should always be crushed, 

 therefore, but without injury to the seed, which will then follow the 

 ordinary rule of development. Some cultivators, after removing the 

 kernel, soak the seed in a mixture of manure and clay. When planted 

 the best dry soil should be selected and the seed covered to a depth of 

 2 inches. If sowed in April, the young plant will emerge the same 

 year, and in six or seven years bear fruit. In its first stages it should 

 be protected by straw or leaves against the cold, and its lateral branches 

 pruned away and its stems guarded by an inclosing support. 



Among the artificial means of reproduction are the following : The 

 planting of shoots, multiplication by protuberances bearing buds, and 

 multiplication by cuttings and grafting of the stumps. The artificial 

 methods, however, do not afford the special advantages of the seedling 

 process, which are : A more vigorous tree, producing longer and more 

 regularly j one of more hardihood, more readily existing on moist, arid, 

 or rocky soils ; a tree with more abundant roots, by which it can offer 

 greater resistance to wind and cold, as well as obtain more nourish- 

 ment; a better form of tree than simply portions of others, the wounds 

 of which heal with difficulty and are frequently the source of decay. 

 The seedling process is, therefore, most advised and most adopted. 



The nursery. The formation of the nursery for the young olive is of 

 great importance, and is a special and very profitable industry. The 

 soil for this purpose should not be either too clayey or too silicious, too 

 dry or moist, should be well mellowed and on a slope of southern in- 

 clination. The land selected is here plowed or dug to a depth of 2 feet 

 in November or December, and thus left until spring to the operation 

 of rain and frost. A second breaking of the soil by spading, less deep 

 than the preceding, in April, completes the dispositions required for 

 the reception of the seedlings, the young wild olives, the rooted cut- 

 tings, and the shoots. 



Inasmuch as these plants when placed are intended to remain at 

 least seven years, they are generally planted a distance of 3 feet apart. 

 The first care taken, after the roots are developed, is to form the trunk 

 of the future tree by careful lopping of the plant's lateral branches. 

 This process is continued for about five years. At the end of the fifth 



